


Aesthetics

by marmolita



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Christmas, Dark, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-10
Updated: 2015-01-10
Packaged: 2018-03-06 22:23:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3150482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marmolita/pseuds/marmolita
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Natasha knows all about Christmas.  She can put on a pretty good act of celebrating it, too, if the situation calls for it.  It was another of those things she learned in the Red Room as part of her Black Widow training, along with how to bake a perfect cake, how to darn socks, and how to crush a grown man's windpipe with her bare hands.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Aesthetics

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a prompt from [imadra-blue](http://archiveofourown.org/users/imadra-blue) who requested Natasha's thoughts on a holiday she doesn't celebrate.

Natasha knows all about Christmas. She can put on a pretty good act of celebrating it, too, if the situation calls for it. It was another of those things she learned in the Red Room as part of her Black Widow training, along with how to bake a perfect cake, how to darn socks, and how to crush a grown man's windpipe with her bare hands.

Natasha is not a religious woman. How could she be, growing up in an era of state atheism?

How could she be, when murder has been her occupation for over fifty years?

So when she walks through the streets of New York, past the bright lights and ice skating rink in Rockefeller Center, past the holiday window displays on Fifth Avenue, she appreciates the aesthetics of it all. She can put on a happy face and pretend to enjoy herself when she's obligated to attend Christmas social gatherings (and while people may call them "holiday" parties, the trees and Santa Claus decorations prove they're really Christmas parties).

Inside, she just remembers broken glass ornaments, the way most poisons become tasteless mixed with something as strong as eggnog, and shoving the point of a star from the top of a tree through a bureaucrat's heart.


End file.
